Data Caps and Vulnerable Populations

[Commentary] Today, most Internet service providers (ISPs) have implemented some form of a data cap. These caps limit the amount of access a consumer has to data before they are charged surplus fees or cut off from the network. Although there is little clarity as to why such caps are necessary, their unintended consequences could be disastrous for vulnerable populations. There are many well-documented economic and competitive concerns about data caps. Caps are not popular with consumers, nor are they an effective means of managing network congestion. In fact, when one Comcast engineer was asked why the company’s caps had been set at current levels he responded that he had “no idea,” as he was involved only in the technological aspects of the company, not “business policy.” This open admission that there is no technological necessity for data caps goes to show that ISPs’ decisions to implement caps is primarily driven by profit.

[Katie Watson is a Policy Analysis Intern at the Benton Foundation, and a senior at the University of Virginia. She will be graduating this spring with dual degrees in Media Studies and Foreign Affairs with concentrations in Media, Policy, and Ethics and Asian Studies.]